Survival after postinfarction cardiac rupture in severe aortic valve stenosis.

Myocardial rupture is a lethal complication of acute myocardial infarction. The concurrence of myocardial infarction and hypertension is known to predispose to cardiac rupture. Therefore, it is likely that postinfarction cardiac rupture in the presence of severe aortic stenosis will lead to a rapidly fatal outcome due to the associated left ventricular hypertension. We report survival in a patient with postinfarction left ventricular free wall rupture discovered at operation for severe aortic valve stenosis.